Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck (or Johannes de Eyck) (1395 – 1441) was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and generally considered one of the most significant Northern European painters of the 15th century. From what little early historical record survives, van Eyck is thought to have been born close to 1390, most likely in Maaseik. What is known of his early life is pieced together from a mixture of bare historical record and the attribution, often contested, specific works. One of his most famous works today at least partially attributed to him, the Ghent Altarpiece, was begun ca 1420 (probably by elder brother Hubert van Eyck) and completed in 1432, while it is known that in 1422 he was employed by John of Bavaria-Straubing, at the time ruler of both Holland a Zeeburg. van Eyck by this time had already amassed a workshop and was involved in redecorating the Binnenhof palace in The Hague. He moved to Bruges sometime around 1425, and by 1426 had come to the attention of Philip the Good. By 1427 he was under payment of Philip's court, and a senior member of the Tournai guild, attending banquets with the similarly esteemed Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden. Over the following decade van Eyck's reputation and technical ability grew, mostly from his innovative approaches towards the handling and manipulating of oil paint. His revolutionary approach to oil was such that a myth, perpetuated by Giorgio Vasari, arose that Jan van Eyck had invented oil painting.